What are the mysterious beings known as fairies? Can they be defined? How have fairy encounters in Europe changed over the centuries?

Dr. Francis Young returns to the show to discuss his new book, Fairies: A History, by Polity Books (2026). Dr. Young traces fairies and fairy encounters from pagan Europe all the way to the 21st Century. He argues that it is not useful to think of fairies as beings that can be proved and documented scientifically, but experienced through a type of perception. Have we moderns lost this type of perception?

What does Tolkien’s conception of Faerie have to do with all of this?

How did the Reformation and the Enlightenment impact fairy belief?

We discuss all of this and more in this episode of IMBIF.

Fairies: A History: https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=fairies-a-history--9781509566778

Dr. Young can be found on Twitter.com @DrFrancisYoung

His substack is Francis Young

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